Pants are outer garments covering the body from the waist to the ankles with separate sections for each leg. Pants are also commonly known as trousers. When a person's waist is considerably smaller than his hips, pants will stay in position provided the waistline fits reasonably snugly. However, many persons have waists that nearly equal, or even exceed, the size of their hips. To hold their pants in position, these persons must use belts and/or suspenders.
A belt is an adjustable band which is worn tightly around the waist. Most pants contain a series of belt loops sewn around the outside of the waist. The belt is threaded through the belt loops and then secured. Suspenders are straps which are worn over the shoulders and fastened to the pants, either to buttons sewn on the inside waistband or to the top edge of the pants using clips. Suspenders are very effective at supporting pants, but are subject to several inconveniences. If the wearer has a garment on top of the straps (for example, a jacket or sweater) and wants to drop his pants, he must either remove the outer garment or disconnect the suspenders from his pants. The vast majority of pants sold in the United States are made to be worn with belts and/or suspenders. Earlier in this century, suspenders were the primary means of supporting dress pants. Belts have gradually replaced suspenders, but it is still common for men to wear both belts and suspenders with dress pants.
While the use of belts and/or suspenders supports the pants, persons with large, protruding stomachs continue to experience an additional problem. The shape and size of their stomachs tend to force the top of their pants outward. In many cases, the top of the pants actually folds over, creating an unsightly and embarrassing situation.
A number of different suspenders have been disclosed, but none exerts an inward force to prevent the top of the pants from folding over and none enables the wearer to easily drop his pants while wearing a garment on top of the suspenders. For example, Snow, U.S. Pat. No. 957,117, issued May 3, 1910, and Thomason, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 2,437,714, issued Mar. 16, 1948, disclose suspenders which can be attached to any type of belt by threading the belt through the suspender loops. Stork, U.S. Pat. No. 2,053,169, issued Sep. 1, 1936, discloses a trousers support having fasteners which are clipped into a locking position to a belt in a manner similar to the locking of a safety pin.